Chapter 29
After figuring it out, Xiao Xiao’s gaze towards Qin Lingxiao couldn’t help but carry a hint of mockery.
Qin Lingxiao also didn’t expect that Cui Xiao Xiao actually knew the story of Mount Tuyun and even called out Yu Ling’er’s name.
It seemed that their group’s arrival at Mount Tu was indeed Cui Xiao Xiao’s doing! What exactly did she want to do? Was she really trying to assist Wei Jie in becoming a demon?
Moreover… when he saw that his former senior brother Tang Youshu was actually carrying a bamboo basket and standing behind Wei Jie, quietly calling Wei Jie master, Qin Lingxiao’s eyes instantly narrowed.
What was going on? That fool Tang Youshu actually took Wei Jie as his master again, just like in the previous trajectory?
Qin Lingxiao’s heart sank even more, becoming more certain that Cui Xiao Xiao, this variable, was helping Wei Jie.
Thinking of this, Qin Lingxiao took a step forward, blocking Yu Ling’er in front of him, cutting off her opportunity to speak with Cui Xiao Xiao again. He only said to Xiao Xiao with a cold and handsome face, “Cui Xiao Xiao, don’t be too complacent. You should know that there are deities above. If you assist the wicked, you will surely be punished by heaven!”
Cui Xiao Xiao didn’t have the deep schemes that Qin Lingxiao speculated.
She originally just happened to walk to the foot of Mount Tuyun, and by chance, the poison acted up. She thought of this story and wanted to ask for a bowl of spiritual spring water to suppress the yin poison. She didn’t expect to encounter Qin Lingxiao here.
She didn’t want to waste words. She waved the chain and said, “Young Pavilion Master Qin, give me the key. You always lock me together with him. Who knows, I might think of generating some right and wrong!”
However, Qin Lingxiao sneered and suddenly pointed a finger, once again forming a qi sword, “No need. After I kill him, you can chop off his arm and regain your freedom.”
Because of Yu Ling’er, Qin Lingxiao had already drunk the spiritual spring, instantly opening up his blocked meridians. His dantian surged with qi, and he could already condense qi swords.
After all, he had experienced a cultivation journey of two hundred years. Many obstacles that cultivators needed to realize over a long period of time, he had already comprehended on his own.
So with the help of the spiritual spring, Qin Lingxiao had already broken through the fourth level obstacle and could directly condense two swords.
Although this level of cultivation couldn’t compare to his two hundred years later self as the number one sword sect master in the world, it was more than enough to deal with the current Wei Jie!
While Cui Xiao Xiao’s arm was connected to Wei Jie’s, making it inconvenient to move, and with the fox tribe people surrounding them, it was the perfect opportunity to eliminate the root of the problem!
That demon king Wei Jie had unfathomable thoughts and extremely high talents. He was Qin Lingxiao’s long-standing inner demon.
This time, with time reversed, he absolutely couldn’t let Wei Jie have a chance to rise again!
Thinking like this, Qin Lingxiao waved his long finger, drawing out another qi sword. After the two swords circled above his head, they rushed straight towards the two people who were shackled together.
This time, there were two qi swords, rushing from the east and west directions. Wei Jie and Xiao Xiao had no way to defend. Even if they swung the invincible chain, they couldn’t block the two swords at the same time.
Xiao Xiao quickly told Tang Youshu to hide behind a nearby big rock. She hurriedly summoned water to form ice, wanting to freeze the rushing qi swords.
But Qin Lingxiao’s cultivation had obviously improved greatly. Xiao Xiao couldn’t freeze the qi swords at all.
Seeing the qi swords carrying a thunderous momentum and rushing towards their faces, at this critical moment, Wei Jie suddenly swung his arm and formed a glowing half-circle qi shield, barely blocking the attack of the two swords with a clang.
This change greatly surprised Qin Lingxiao.
Because the qi shield formed by Wei Jie… was exactly the same as the qi shield of Wonderful Immortal Mountain among the Four Great Sects!
This qi shield was the ingenious defensive technique of Wonderful Immortal Mountain and had never been passed on to outsiders. Moreover, the new disciples often needed to meditate painfully under the waterfall of Wonderful Immortal Mountain for three years until they could bring out the qi shield to block the slanting waterfall above their heads before they could pass the first hurdle of entering the sect.
Those three years of pouring washed away the mediocre talents. Only those who could stay were the true disciples of the Qi Sect of Wonderful Immortal Mountain.
And in Wei Jie’s previous life trajectory, he had never practiced the qi shield of Wonderful Immortal Mountain!
How could he, who should have been ordinary now, suddenly use the ultimate skill of the Four Great Sects to block it?
Not only Qin Lingxiao was greatly surprised, but even Cui Xiao Xiao beside Wei Jie was also a bit dumbfounded.
Although she had taught him this technique, she had only casually taught it to Wei Jie to pass the time so that he wouldn’t snore.
There were only a few brief sentences about this qi shield technique in her master’s secret manual. Xiao Xiao herself, as a novice cultivator, didn’t fully understand the method.
When she taught it, it was more or less absurd and not very sincere.
But in just a few short days, Wei Jie had actually comprehended the trick and could form the shield without suffering under the waterfall for three years?
How strong must his comprehension and qi cultivation ability be?
No wonder her master Tang Youshu always praised his demonic master Wei Jie endlessly when he was alive, saying that he was a heaven-sent genius rarely seen in a thousand years!
With such aptitude and talent, even if he hadn’t been bitten by the snake, if he had found a famous master, Wei Jie would have likely become a great cultivator in a hundred years, and even ascending to immortality might not have been difficult.
Just looking at his current skill and cultivation, he was much better than her. She really couldn’t teach Wei Jie anything. His taking her as his master seemed to have more of a component of boredom and amusement.
As for the fox demoness Yu Ling’er, she didn’t know about the undercurrents between these few people.
Seeing Qin Lingxiao’s qi sword being deflected, she became anxious in her heart, worried that the Benefactor would be at a disadvantage when confronting those people.
So Yu Ling’er immediately transformed into her human form, turning into a lovely girl, and said to Wei Jie and the others, “You should also know that this is not a place where riffraff can enter. Why don’t you leave quickly!”
Xiao Xiao wanted to leave. Since they weren’t willing to give the spring water, there was no need to stay here.
But she couldn’t pull the man beside her. Wei Jie didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.
Xiao Xiao said in a low voice, “Let’s go. We’ll think of another way.”
However, Wei Jie’s tall figure remained unmoved. His gaze glanced at her lazily and said lightly, “Can you wait?”
Xiao Xiao was stumped by the question because she indeed wasn’t sure if she could endure the next overwhelming attack of the yin poison.
Wei Jie smiled and held the qi shield with one hand. He glanced at the fox girl and directly asked something unrelated, “Did this Young Pavilion Master Qin drink the spiritual spring of Mount Tuyun?”
Wei Jie remembered that when they were at Qilao Mountain, this young man surnamed Qin had been instigating the other sects to take action, but he himself had hidden behind and didn’t dare to show his face.
But today, not only did the one surnamed Qin shoot a sneak attack early on, he even came out to fight them one-on-two in a high-profile manner.
What great courage was this? Who gave it to him?
Wei Jie guessed that the one surnamed Qin must have drunk the spiritual spring that Xiao Xiao mentioned, greatly increasing his strength and courage.
Yu Ling’er couldn’t lie. Moreover, being stared at by Wei Jie’s light purple demonic eyes, she became a bit absentminded. When Wei Jie asked this, she actually nodded honestly and said, “Young Pavilion Master Qin is Ling’er’s savior. He should naturally drink our fox tribe’s holy water. He just drank three bowls…”
Wei Jie heard this and nodded very satisfactorily. Then he suddenly took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom and threw it towards Qin Lingxiao.
Although Wei Jie’s movement was fast, Qin Lingxiao had long been on guard: What hidden weapon did this guy use? It absolutely couldn’t hurt him.
He sneered and elegantly waved his long fingers, guiding the qi sword to quickly knock away that porcelain bottle.
The porcelain bottle shattered as soon as it touched the qi sword. But from the porcelain bottle, many black seeds the size of sesame seeds splashed out.
These things were also sinister. They automatically sought out hosts with abundant spiritual energy and actually went straight for Qin Lingxiao, attaching to his arms and neck.
Those things were too small, like dust. Qin Lingxiao couldn’t defend against them. When they stuck to Qin Lingxiao’s skin, those black seeds seemed to inflate as if blown up, rapidly swelling.
At this time, Cui Xiao Xiao finally saw those black seeds clearly. In an instant, they had already turned into palm-sized fleas! Those black seeds… weren’t they the corpse fleas that Wei Jie had collected from that corpse-eating beast before?
Qin Lingxiao was a lofty and elegant person. When he was suddenly attached by insects with a rotten stench, he instantly felt extremely nauseous!
Moreover, the places bitten by the insects felt a burst of sharp pain. He hurriedly reached out to pull off the insects and then threw them away in disgust.
However, Wei Jie swung his long robe and caught those corpse fleas. He twisted off the sharp mouth of one of the insects and handed it to Xiao Xiao, saying, “Quickly suck it dry!”
The smell of the insect was rotten and its appearance was hideous. It was really unbearable to even look at.
But Cui Xiao Xiao instantly understood Wei Jie’s intention.
Qin Lingxiao had just drunk three large bowls of spiritual spring not long ago, and there were still remnants of the spiritual spring in his blood. Now that those big fleas had sucked Qin Lingxiao’s blood, their bellies were filled with precious nourishing substances!
Thinking of the pain of the yin poison attack, Xiao Xiao steeled her heart and fiercely bit into the flea’s fat belly, closing her eyes and starting to suck the blood in its belly.
A girl as beautiful and pure as a flower, biting a fat black insect under the moonlight, that kind of scene was simply unbearable to watch.
Qin Lingxiao had always disliked insects. Seeing Xiao Xiao’s heroic eating appearance, he actually couldn’t hold back and bent over to dry heave a few times.
But after the feeling of nausea passed, Qin Lingxiao also realized Wei Jie’s intention of using insects to sneak attack him. They were trying to drink the spiritual spring water in a roundabout way! Thinking of this, Qin Lingxiao angrily glared at this master-disciple pair.
Wei Jie’s idea was correct. Qin Lingxiao had just drunk the spiritual spring not long ago, and his blood was indeed full of spiritual energy.
When Qin Lingxiao’s blood entered her mouth, Xiao Xiao felt extremely comfortable all over her body. Even without meditating and regulating her breath, the qi in her dantian was automatically gathering, seemingly having the momentum to condense into a Golden Core…
You should know that for ordinary people to cultivate, just the stage of condensing qi and establishing foundation often required a hundred years of time.
When one could condense qi into a core, it was often after a hundred years. After refining the Golden Core, one could transcend the hundred-year lifespan of mortals and continue to cultivate towards the stage of condensing the Golden Core into a Nascent Soul.
And her master Tang Youshu back then had spent a very long time before condensing qi into a core. So although his age was similar to his junior brother Qin Lingxiao, he looked seventy or eighty years older than Qin Lingxiao in appearance.
And for those like Qin Lingxiao who had good opportunities and formed their Golden Core early, they could maintain a youthful appearance.
And how long had Xiao Xiao been cultivating? She actually had the tendency to form a Golden Core! No wonder everyone longed for fortuitous encounters in cultivation. It was really a step to ascend to heaven!
However, Cui Xiao Xiao had no time to be happy. She couldn’t wait to check the spots of scales on her wrist, and they had suddenly become much lighter.
The spiritual spring had finally suppressed the poison in her body a little!
As for Yu Ling’er, she had been watching the sudden change beside her. Seeing that woman suck the flea dry, the blood stains at the corner of her mouth had not dried, and on the skin of her wrist… there were actually spots of snake scales.
The little fox was both shocked and angry. She couldn’t help but shout, “What kind of demon are you? You actually went to great lengths to steal our fox tribe’s spiritual spring to drink!”
Cui Xiao Xiao heard her call herself a demon and was slightly stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly endlessly.
That’s right. Since she had inexplicably traversed to two hundred years ago, she had unintentionally walked half of Wei Jie’s path to demonhood.
The one who fell into the deep valley and was poisoned by the Broken Soul Snake was her, the one who had the Demon Bead refined by Wei Jie on her body was her, and now the one who drank the spiritual spring to overcome the demonic nature was also her!
In this case, it seemed quite reasonable to be called a demoness by others!
She really wanted to ask, which expert two hundred years ago had calculated that her extremely yin fate would overcome Wei Jie?
Now, from her perspective, it was clearly Wei Jie who was overcoming her!
Qin Lingxiao heard Yu Ling’er call Cui Xiao Xiao a demon and also sneered coldly. He said in a deep voice, “Cui Xiao Xiao, if you turn back now and cut ties with that Wei Jie, I can still save you. But if you remain obsessed and keep entangling with him, I’m afraid you will really fall into the demonic path and never be able to recover!”
Xiao Xiao and this Sect Master Qin had always been talking past each other. She calmed her qi in the dantian and waved the shackles on her hand again, “If it weren’t for your chain, I would have separated from him long ago. It’s useless for you to say these things to me. It’s better to unlock it for me first.”
Jie’er didn’t like hearing this. He felt that his master had the suspicion of being ungrateful, actually saying things about wanting to hurriedly break ties with him in front of that Qin guy!
Did she forget who helped her suppress the yin poison?
He glared at Xiao Xiao with a cold gaze, his expression as cold and aloof as a lotus in the high mountains.
Xiao Xiao hurriedly maintained the fragile master-disciple affection and whispered, “Master is really too hungry! It would be so much better if our hands were separated. I could eat and drink with peace of mind… When we go down the mountain, Master will treat you to braised meat, alright?”
When she said this, Sect Master Cui accidentally swallowed.
Wei Jie was finally amused by her greedy appearance and asked lazily, “Treat me? Do you have money?”
Tang Youshu behind them hurriedly interjected, “Grand-master and Master want to eat braised meat? When we go down the mountain, this disciple will immediately
buy it for you!”
Xiao Xiao looked at her young benefactor, Mr. Tang, with a moved expression and quickly reminded, “I want two portions, with extra vinegar and spice…”
The fox girl Yu Ling’er couldn’t bear to listen anymore.
What kind of lowly sect was this? If they weren’t being affectionate with each other, they were eating and drinking! They were truly a family of vulgar people!
Moreover, that master and disciple worked together to use stinky insects to suck the Benefactor’s blood. That Cui Xiao Xiao was clearly possessed by a demon. She drank the spiritual spring, wouldn’t that just intensify her demonic nature?
Seeing the bite marks on Qin Lingxiao’s neck, Yu Ling’er couldn’t help but feel distressed.
She said to Qin Lingxiao, “Young Pavilion Master! This demoness is full of tricks and has already drunk our fox tribe’s spiritual spring. Once she becomes powerful, she will bring disaster to the world. It will be our fox tribe’s fault. We can’t let her go down the mountain! Come, capture that demoness!”
Xiao Xiao looked at Yu Ling’er’s righteous appearance as if she hated evil, and she almost laughed out of anger.
This fox girl had personally led a genuine demon king into the forbidden area of the fox tribe in the original two hundred years ago, and even secretly took the spiritual spring and gave it to the demon king Wei Jie to drink behind the tribe leader’s back.
Now it was good. She only drank some blood mixed with spiritual spring, and this fox girl started to feel distressed for the benefactor, putting on an appearance of righteousness and evil not being able to coexist, wanting to hold her accountable.
However, being surrounded by so many foxes, whether they could successfully break through really became a problem.
Just at this moment, Wei Jie twisted another big flea, raised his neck, and sucked it dry in gulps. Seeing more and more foxes surrounding them, he knew that today’s matter probably couldn’t end well. He could only drink some nourishing stuff first and then fight hard later.
Qin Lingxiao saw Wei Jie drink his blood and let out a low roar in anger.
He never thought that despite all his calculations, Wei Jie still managed to drink the fox tribe’s spiritual spring!
His cultivation would probably also greatly increase. Could it be that even though he had taken the upper hand, he still had to watch the thief Wei Jie succeed in the end and go on to slaughter the Four Great Sects?
Qin Lingxiao had always been wary of Wei Jie in his heart. Seeing that Wei Jie had obtained a fortuitous encounter after twists and turns, he couldn’t let him off even more.
However, Wei Jie had entered the Talisman Sect, and his master Cui Xiao Xiao’s carefree attitude had indeed won the disciple’s heart.
Wei Jie now also understood the principle of not being able to confront head-on. Since Xiao Xiao had obtained the spiritual spring to detoxify, staying here any longer was of no benefit. It was best to withdraw first.
Unfortunately, at this time, Mount Tuyun was shrouded in fog, and demonic energy filled the sky. They couldn’t see the way at all. The three of them, ancestor and disciples, walked in a circle and returned to the original place again.
And those foxes had already guarded the checkpoint and surrounded them, determined not to let the people who stole the spiritual spring go down the mountain.
With such a confrontation, it was inevitable that a bloody battle would ensue.
Xiao Xiao saw this situation and felt a bit difficult. Foxes were spiritual creatures, not to mention that many foxes in the fox tribe had already cultivated human forms. If they accidentally injured these spiritual creatures during the fight later, not only would it damage their blessings, but they would also suffer the long-lasting and endless revenge of the fox tribe.
Her master’s secret manual had specifically instructed that if the fox tribe did not commit evil, they should not be easily harmed.
It was a pity that these foxes were instigated by Qin Lingxiao. For some reason, their hostility towards her and Wei Jie was so great. Could it be that later they really had to go through a rain of blades and swords, with flesh and blood splattering, in order to escape?
While thinking about this in her heart, Xiao Xiao’s eyes suddenly fixed on something: among this group of foxes, a skinny fox with hair loss had mixed in at some unknown time…
It stood at the very back of the fox group, looking thin and small, with bare fur, extremely unsightly.
When Cui Xiao Xiao stared at it, that hairless skinny fox even retreated a bit, as if not wanting people to notice it.
As Xiao Xiao’s thoughts turned, she recalled the anecdotes about those demon tribes that she had chatted about with her senior brother and the others before.
These demon tribes would have a great demon tribulation every thousand years.
Unlike humans, the heavens had even harsher conditions for demon tribes to ascend to immortality. Very few demon tribes could pass the tribulation and ascend.
However, among the demon tribes, spiritual creatures like foxes naturally had some opportunistic tricks to muddle through.
This was also an inside story that Master Tang Youshu learned when he accompanied his master Wei Jie to Mount Tuyun back then.
It was said that the ancestor of the fox tribe once had a fateful connection with Nüwa. With the blessing of Goddess Nüwa, when molding clay figurines, she casually molded a dozen clay foxes and gave them to the ancestor of Tu Shan.
And now, every few thousand years, when a nine-tailed spirit fox capable of ascension appeared in the tribe, it would voluntarily shed its fur, put its fox skin on the clay fox blessed by Nüwa, and then stop eating or drinking, starving itself until it became thin and emaciated, greatly reducing its vitality, and then hiding in the tribe.
In this way, when the heavenly tribulation struck, that fake clay fox wearing the fur would deceive the heavens, attracting tens of thousands of heavenly thunderbolts, allowing the real fox to pass the tribulation by luck.
This was also the trick that allowed the fox tribe to far surpass other demon tribes in ascension.
Xiao Xiao had a deep impression of this part of demon history. Now she suddenly remembered it.
Her eyesight was different from ordinary people’s. She immediately saw that the wise eyes of that thin and small fox were full of spiritual power, which did not match its emaciated body at all.
As her thoughts flowed, she whispered to Wei Jie, “You see that fox…”
Wei Jie looked in the direction of Xiao Xiao’s gaze and saw the skinny fox hiding in the back.
“What’s wrong?” He didn’t know the secrets of the fox tribe, so naturally, he didn’t understand why Xiao Xiao asked him to look.
Xiao Xiao couldn’t explain too much in detail, so she simply instructed, “That fox might be the fox king… Later, if we really start fighting, capture the king first!”
Now that they were surrounded by the fox tribe, they couldn’t confront them head-on and could only use their wits. If that fox was really the fox king, then she had become emaciated like this. She must be preparing to undergo the tribulation and even less dared to reveal her true strength at such a critical moment…
Wei Jie suspiciously looked at that skinny fox that was all skin and bones – compared to the other foxes with shiny fur and large size, this fox looked pitiful as if it was about to die. How could it possibly be the fox king?
However, since Xiao Xiao said so, she must have her reasons.
Wei Jie had always felt that this little master of his was his lucky star. Since the lucky star had pointed out the direction, he might as well give it a try!
Thinking of this, the two exchanged glances and understood each other’s intentions. Wei Jie wrapped his arm around Xiao Xiao’s slender waist with one hand, exerted force with his feet, and the two of them suddenly attacked the skinny fox in the corner together.
As a descendant of the Demon Subduing Wei Family, Wei Jie was born with the talent to intimidate these exotic beasts. He suddenly let out a beast roar.
Because he had just drunk the spiritual blood, the surging true qi allowed the Wei Family’s beast roar to exert its maximum power. Those foxes pouncing over instantly had their souls leave their bodies and froze on the ground, unable to move.
However, this beast roar was useless against humans.
Qin Lingxiao glanced at the dazed Yu Ling’er beside him, snorted coldly, and immediately waved his qi sword to pounce on the two.
At the moment when Wei Jie picked her up and leaped into the air, Xiao Xiao also used one hand to flick the water-transforming talisman, urging the water flow to wrap around Qin Lingxiao, and then instantly activated the ice condensation, freezing his hands and feet.
Although Qin Lingxiao immediately shattered the ice, he was slowed down for a moment.
The cooperation between the master and disciple this time was too perfect. In an instant, Wei Jie had already turned his fist into a palm and firmly grasped the neck of that skinny fox.
This change was beyond everyone’s expectation, especially those fox tribesmen. They never thought that these two intruders would actually circle around and directly attack a skinny fox in the back.
Xiao Xiao had already taken out the demon-subduing talisman drawn with her blood and steadily pasted it on the fox’s forehead.
Her talisman drawing skills had now improved by leaps and bounds. Naturally, this demon-subduing talisman was not a fake. After being pasted, that fox instantly scattered its condensed primordial spirit. Nine magnificent huge tails drilled out from the skinny and small fox’s butt, swaying in the air, completely disproportionate to its hairless and thin body.
At this time, Yu Ling’er, who had just recovered from the shock of the beast roar, was both surprised and angry. She pounced over, shouting “Mother,” ready to rescue that fox.
But Wei Jie held the nine-tailed fox firmly and even declared that if anyone dared to take a step forward, he would immediately crush its throat.
Yu Ling’er was afraid of harming the captured fox and didn’t dare to approach. She could only look at her mother with tears in her eyes, feeling anxious.
